Unleashing Death
by MuffledSnickers
Summary: The long deceased Seymour has found a way to meld the Farplane with the living world of Spira. Paine is caught up in the middle of his scheming in an adventure nobody could have imagined. Better summary inside, Paine centric
1. Questions

**Thunder crackled, lighting up the sky to strike down only feet away as a hesitant boom roared throughout the Thunder Plains.** Paine didn't even flinch as the rock before her was struck and scarred with dark black. Her attention was focused elsewhere, on the object in her palms. The blue firestone pendant glinted from the light of the occasional flashes, alluring. The chain fell loosely behind it, the fine-crafted metal coils escaping in-between her fingers to dangle precariously near the ground. Paine's gaze was glued to the shimmering, deep blue pendant at the edge of the chain that rest calmly in her palm.

It was a sacred keepsake that her parents had given her, much like the sword she always carried, strapped to her side. Paine almost never removed the pendant, only at times of peace when she could be alone and stare into the blue stone, wondering about her past. She had never known her parents; she'd been given to guardians almost immediately after her birth, not that she would remember. Raised among the Ronso tribes, she was made into a Warrior, trained from birth to defend herself and give trust only sparingly. She was a fast learner and quickly became an excellent Warrior, at age seven she was given the sword of her father.

"You're soaked! It's freezing! You trying to catch your death or what?" Paine broke her gaze away from the stone and crumpled both stone and chain up tightly in her fist. Rikku promptly sat down next to her on the same stone, shoving her aside a little so there was room. "What'cha doing out here anyway?"

Paine didn't lift her gaze from her fist, absently tightening her grip on the stone. "Just thinking."

"Ooh, I want in into the psyche of Paine!" Paine's eyes lifted slightly to give Rikku a raised eyebrow. "Aww, come on! We're buddies now, right? Please?"

Over the course of their sphere hunting journey, Paine had bonded with both Rikku and Yuna. She let them in more than she had let anybody since the Crimson Squad days. It was nice, having friends she could rely on and not being alone anymore. Somehow, through all Rikku's girlish behavior and Yuna's thick, sticky past, they had found a way to break through Paine's defenses. She trusted them, considered them close. Despite the fact they sometimes annoyed her with the constant energy and positive vibrations, they had stuck with her. "I was thinking of home." Paine relented, "I'd like to go back and visit them."

"The Ronsos?" Rikku asked. She wasn't too familiar with Paine's past; Paine hadn't always been open to her and Yuna.

"Yeah." Paine sighed, thinking of her guardians. "I haven't stopped to visit for a while. I mean, I know we helped out Kimahri, but I didn't speak with the others."

"Were you…" Rikku fumbled with how to phrase it. "Were you actually raised by the Ronsos?" Paine nodded slightly and Rikku jumped with elation. "So that's why you're always so reserved and serious-like!"

The edges of Paine's mouth quirked upwards in amusement. "How long have you wondered?" She asked softly, her smile spanning out a little more.

"Ever since I picked you up! I just didn't know how to ask, you were never so open or anything. Yuna owes me a thousand gil!"

"You were making bets?" Paine was torn between the urge to laugh or slap Rikku.

Rikku reddened and kicked at the ground. "Yeah, well…it was Yuna's fault. She said you couldn't possibly be with the Ronso 'cause your not blue or furry and you don't have a tail, you know? But then I said…wait." Something occurred to Rikku as she stared down at Paine. "You're not blue or furry…"

"You just noticed?" Paine chuckled softly. It felt good to laugh, she rarely laughed. The Ronso were great guardians, but they never exactly felt the need for humor and since her Crimson Squad days, she hadn't had much to laugh about.

"But then…you're not Ronso, are you?" Paine shook her head, half-smiling.

Rikku deflated. "Damnit, I owe Yuna a thousand gil…" She kicked at the stone again. "Hey…what are you then?"

Paine's eyes lingered on her still-clenched fist before she shrugged. "Don't know. Never knew my parents." She tried to throw it off in a careless manner, but didn't quite manage to pull it off. Rikku saw her clenched fists and tightened jaw. She bit her lower lip.

"Sorry."

"It's fine." Paine might be more open than she had been before, but some subjects were not to be discussed. "I'm going to stay here a little while longer, okay? You go ahead and pick up the gang. I'll be here."

Rikku began chewing on her bottom lip. "Okay…"

"I'll be fine, Rikku. I just need some time."

"Okay…" Rikku didn't sound convinced, but she hesitantly left anyway, casting a look over her shoulder at Paine's hunched form. Paine released the fist she had been holding and carefully drew away the pendant with her other hand. There was a small, red imprint of a sword in the middle of her palm. Had that always been there? Paine frowned and turned the stone over in her hand. There was no sword on the stone. Paine's gaze flicked between her palm and the blue firestone. She brought her hand close to her face to study the imprint, but other than the outline, Paine couldn't make out anything in the middle. It was too small to tell. She shook her head and put the necklace back on.

Paine stood and flinched at the chill of her hair against her head. It really was freezing; she had been too warped in her memories to tell. Fighting against the onslaught of rain and harsh-blowing wind, Paine began to make her way to the Al Bhed traveling center in the middle of the Thunder Plains.

She was halfway there before a familiar '_click-click'_ against stone warned her of something else. By the time she registered the _'click-click'_ noise, it was too late. Not five feet in front of her, a flash-bomb exploded and her eyes seared. White enveloped her vision before she blinked and everything around her went black. Instinctively, Paine fumbled at her waist to draw her sword, but her attackers got to her first. A hard blow to the shoulders knocked her back, making her heel catch against a stone behind her. She fell heavily and long fingered hands soon found their way onto her shoulders. Guado were attacking her!

Blinded, Paine lashed out desperately and her fist made contact with something fleshy. An 'oomf' was heard above her before someone else yelled. "You idiot!" Something hard, a boot? smashed into her stomach and pressed down hard. All the air rushed out of Paine's lungs and she choked for a moment. She tried to kick up at the attacker, but soon after a heavy weight fell on her legs too, rendering them useless.

"Check her palm!" More long-fingered hands grabbed her, taking her arm and bending it back. Paine didn't know what was going on, but would rebuke anything that happened. She closed her palm into a tight fist as the long, unmistakably Guado fingers tried to pry her fist apart.

Another blow struck her across the head and Paine's head swam. She struggled to hold onto consciousness, for fear of what would happen to her should she fail, but it was a loosing battle. She felt her hand relax and open at the prying Guado's fingers. A distant, small voice whispered. "It's her…" Paine could hold on no longer. Her head fell back against the rock and she fell into the merciless depths of unconsciousness.

_**He searched the tent desperately. **__She wasn't wearing it; it had to be somewhere in here. He had watched her enter the tent with it on and exit without it. If only he could find it, the whole thing would go to hell if he could just find it. With the two pieces forever separated, one with an unsent and one with her, they would never be able to choose a key. Paine would never be in danger of becoming that key. The Farplane would remain as it was and those who were deceased would remain dead. If only he could find the locket!_

_Searching frantically, he threw aside a box he'd just emptied before moving on to a second crate, one buried under random potions and stacks of clothes. Nearly ripping the lid off, he sighed in relief. The bluestone fire pendant shone at him brightly, glittering in the catches of sunlight. _

_A shadow fell over his back. Smiling grimly, the man turned—to behold a most frightening sight indeed. He only got a flash, a mere glimpse before a loud cry broke the air. "THIEF!" Sword already raised, the leather clad Warrior sliced down in a fluid, quick motion._

_He only had half a second to think about it. Throwing himself back, the sword sliced straight across his right eye, from his forehead to his cheek. Pain exploded through his head as blood crawled into the now-useless eye. Blinded by the pain and frantic in his quest, he lashed out forcibly and his boot connected with something fleshy._

_Paine grunted as she was kicked harshly in the stomach, thrown back against a side of the tent. The tent ripped and nearly threw her out into the fierce, icy winds of Mt. Gagazet._

_The thief lunged for the tent flap and made it outside, clutching at his eye before Paine bowled him over. They wrestled in the snow until the thief claimed the upper hand and landed a sharp blow to Paine's jaw. Paine's head flipped back at the force of the blow and blood filled her mouth, nearly choking her._

_For half a second, the thief stared, torn with a feeling of pity. That was his downfall. Spitting out a mouthful of blood, Paine reared her head back and slammed it against his own. That, combined with his already freely bleeding eye injury, caused the thief to jerk back and clutch at his eye once more. Paine quickly flipped him over so that she was on top of him and grabbed the necklace from his twitching fingers._

_Rolling off him, Paine stumbled to her feet, but quickly fell down again against the beating she had taken. Crawling on her knees, she scurried away and left the man there. Not fourty feet away, she choked on another mouthful of blood and fell limply to the ground, shivering against the fierce wind. Her eyes shut tightly as her fist grasped the necklace in a deathhold, she gingerly closed her eyes and felt no more._

**A dull throbbing at the back of her head was the first thing Paine noticed as she came into consciousness.** The more Paine came into consciousness, the more the throbbing grew into a tiresome ache that screamed throughout her mind, making her wish she could simply go back to sleep.

Slowly, the events before her falling unconscious gradually became clearer in her mind. Paine groaned ungracefully and blinked furiously, her cloudy thoughts and memories becoming vivid and painfully clear. She had been in the Thunder Plains with Rikku…no, Rikku had left and she was going to the Al Bhed travel station when…Paine jerked in bed and opened her eyes wide-to no avail, only seeing a familiar darkness enshrouding her vision. Something was covering her eyes. She sat up stiffly and instinctively reached for her blade. "Don't worry. You're safe now." The voice sounded unnaturally loud and hurt Paine's ears, she barely registered the words. Paine flinched and two hands pressed upon her shoulders. Remembering the day before, Paine fought against her unseen assailant, flailing this way and that.

"Calm down!" The stern, loud voice shouted in a much darker tone. "You're safe now!" Paine didn't believe them. She struggled all the more against her assailant before a familiar voice broke the other woman's.

"Paine! Stop! You're hurting her!" Paine recognized the voice, it was Rikku. She let go of the woman in front of her as the lightweight sat down, tilting the bed slightly. "Lay down." Rikku commanded. When Paine didn't immediately comply, Rikku gave her a little push. "Come on, you're not going to heal by attacking your savior. Relax, you're okay now."

Paine laid back slowly and closed her unseeing eyes. "What happened?"

"You were attacked by Guado outside the Thunder Plains. Lulu was coming back from a visit to Rin and she saw the Guado attacking you. She fought them off and called us back to bring you to Besaid so that you could get proper medical treatment."

Paine blinked. "Lulu?" She had heard that name somewhere before… "Yuna's friend?"

"The one you just nearly strangled, yes, that's the one." Rikku assured her.

Paine had the decency to look sheepish, despite her eyes being covered. "Sorry."

"It's alright." Paine couldn't see the owner of the voice, but she suspected it was Lulu. A distant memory of the black mage formed in her mind. Paine reached up and began fidgeting with the eye-covering.

Rikku slapped her hand away. "Don't touch that. Do you want to stay blind? Just leave it be for now."

Paine withdrew her hand and tried to turn her head towards Rikku. "How long have I been out?"

"Just a few hours. It'll take your eyes about an hour more to heal, but you should stay in bed and rest. You took quite a beating." Something cold was pressed upon Paine's stomach and Paine inhaled deeply in surprise. "It'll make the bruising go away." Rikku explained simply. "I'm glad you're okay Paine, we were worried for awhile there…"

_Clunk, clunk, clunk. _The sound of material moving was distant as heavy footfalls came nearer. "Is she…" Nooj asked cautiously.

"She'll be okay." Rikku assured him.

"She took a bad beating, she needs to rest." Lulu explained.

"Can we stop talking about me like I'm not awake?" Paine grumbled irritably.

"Paine!" Nooj stepped forward, making another loud _clank _as his machina leg stepped down. "Are you alright?" Something warm and fleshy gripped her hand.

"I'm fine." Paine answered distractedly, her tone sharpening. "Nooj, look at my hand."

Nooj let go of her hand. "Sorry," He apologized, misinterpreting her, "Was just concerned an-"

"No, you idiot." Paine rolled her unseeing eyes, glad that she was blindfolded. "Look at my hand, my palm. Is there something there?"

Paine held up her hand for him in his general direction and Nooj's metallic fingers curved around her hand, guiding them to the light where he could see. Nooj frowned, squinting at her hand. "Yeah, there is…" He trailed off as lighter footfalls could be heard behind him.

"Whoa, Paine! When'd she get a tattoo?" Gippal's voice was clearly distinguishable as he moved aside the flap and entered the already-crowded tent.

"It's not a tattoo." Paine bit out aggressively.

"Paine! You're awake!" The next thing Paine knew, arms encircled her and pulled her up from her comfortable position to one that was less so. Her stomach screamed in protest to the torture of the jerky movement and encompassing hug while something heavy sprawled across her legs.

"Hey!" Rikku's protest was somewhat muffled, "Get offa her, you're gunna crush her!" Seconds later the extra weight was removed and Paine huffed in heavily, drawing in a great breath of air.

"Baralia-" she somewhat choked to get the words out, "I'm going to kill you." She gritted her teeth. "You're on my legs, Gippal."

She could practically see Gippal's 'innocent' smile. "Oh, was I? My bad." He moved off her legs, but sat on the edge of the cot, moving aside her feet to make room for himself.

Paine breathed in again and two hands pressed back against her shoulders, making her lie down. Paine grunted as her stomach roared in protest to the movement. Rikku's voice was reprimanding. "It's not like she's got several broken ribs or anything! Just jump on her, why don't ya!"

"Sorry." Baralia sounded sheepish.

"Paine." Nooj's metallic fingers were cold against her hand. "What is this?" he asked, she assumed he meant her palm.

"I don't know."

"What do ya mean, you don't know? It's a sweet ass tattoo that you must have got when you were drunk sometime!" Gippal answered simply, giving the symbol merely a passing glance.

"I don't drink." Paine snapped back.

Gippal chuckled. "What about that one time in the Squad when Baralia and me-"

Paine's jaw tightened as Baralia flushed darkly and protested immediately. "You made me!"

"What happened?" Rikku asked anxiously, dropping the nice role of caretaker and instead reaching for gooey details.

"Nothing." Paine spoke before anyone else could, cutting off the subject. Nooj and Baralia looked hugely relieved and Gippal just smiled openly.

"Touchy, aren't you?"

"Shut up."

"'I don't drink.'" Gippal mocked.

"What happened?!" Rikku bounced excitedly.

"I'll tell you later." Gippal assured her.

"No you won't." Paine would have glared at him, if it had not been for her blindfold.

"Who's going to stop me?" Gippal chuckled. "Not you, miss stuck-in-bed." He playfully poked her stomach, just for emphasis and Paine groaned.

"Hey!" Rikku protested, going back to caretaker form now that she knew she'd be getting the details. "Don't do that! She's healing!"

"As fun as it's been for all of you to torture Paine…" Lulu gave each of them a sharp look. "She needs her rest. You can talk with her later when she's all better." With that, one by one, everybody, including Rikku, was shooed out of the hut so that Paine could 'get her rest'. Paine sighed dejectedly and fell limp against the cot.

_**Lulu shuffled around the cottage softly as Paine began to fall asleep.**_ After awhile of small chores, Paine's breathing began coming in a regular pattern and Lulu took it that Paine had fallen asleep. Sitting on an old crate, Lulu watched the blindfolded girl's chest rise and fall steadily. She was truly glad she had been there in the Thunder Planes to help the Warrior. If she hadn't have been…Lulu shook her head.

Her eyes followed up Paine's resting form to her face and a small smile graced her lips. Paine was gorgeous. Her chin jutted out just right, not too prominent, but not too short, leading up to high, almost shallow cheekbones that framed a small, rarely smiling mouth. Above that, covered by the blindfold and closed eyes, usually glaring crimson eyes sparkled beautifully against her pale face. Unusual for one so young, her silver hair glistened in its short, upheld way.

Lulu smiled sadly and came closer to Paine, kneeling at the side of the cot. Gently, ever so softly, she touched Paine's hand. Paine shivered slightly, but didn't appear to wake up. Slowly, she turned Paine's hand over lightly and traced over the mark on her palm. "I'm sorry…" Her fingers danced over Paine's palm where the symbol was. Her voice was soft, a low whisper that wouldn't carry past the tent's entrance. "Forgive me, Paine."

The warmth of her hand left Paine's palm as Paine's eyes shot open, still obscured by the blindfold. "What?"

No answer came back to her, Lulu was gone.


	2. Discoveries

**It was forty minutes later that Rikku finally came in and removed the blindfold.** Paine blinked against the onslaught of light that invaded her irises and sat up quickly. Her stomach seared and Paine choked for a second against the pain.

"Your ribs have already started to mend, with Yuna's help, so you should be feeling fine in about a half hour. But until then, your stomach's going to hurt a little."

"A little? Have you ever broken your ribs?"

Rikku smiled. "Can't say I have. Come on." Paine stood, ignoring Rikku's help and existed the tent flap. Once she was in a position, it wasn't so bad, just moving caused her a mediocre of pain.

"Where's Lulu?" Paine asked suddenly, glancing at the temple.

"She's at the beach." Rikku informed her. "Why? What's up?"

"Nothing." Paine lied. "I just…want to thank her."

Rikku smiled cheerfully. "I'll go with you!"

Paine sighed. She couldn't just say no to Rikku without the other girl getting suspicious and there'd be fiends on the road. Paine was sure she'd be able to handle anything, but with her current condition…not for another half hour, at least.

So she allowed Rikku to walk with her to the beach. They did encounter fiends, but in numbers less than Paine expected. When they finally reached the beach, Paine identified Lulu sitting in the far left corner of the sand, watching Wakka practice Blitz with his team near the docks.

Rikku skipped over to Wakka and Paine let out a sigh of relief. She made her way over to Lulu and stood behind the sitting mage, her shadow falling over her entirely.

"You were supposed to be asleep." Lulu supplied, avoiding looking at Paine. Paine sat down next to the black mage and gave her a long, hard stare.

"Well, I wasn't." Paine took a seat next to the sitting mage in the sand.

Lulu gave a small smile, still staring at the ground. "You look just like her, though you act much more like your father."

Paine stiffened. After a short pause, she hesitantly asked. "You know my father?" Paine herself didn't even know who the man was. How did Lulu know such things? What was she hiding?

"More than you ever did, I'm afraid." Lulu continued staring at the wet sand, watching the tide slowly roll up to the edge of her feet and then gently rolling back again. Paine's jaw clenched slightly. _No kidding. That can happen when a father immediately gives his kid to a tribe of Ronso instead of raising her himself._ She remained silent. At her silence, Lulu continued, a bit more hesitant. "Paine…your father died two years ago. I'm sorry."

Paine froze, keeping her gaze locked ahead, turned away from Lulu. She could feel the other woman's eyes burning into her, but she refused to look back. "What does it matter?" Paine bit out lowly. _Not like he cared for me._

Lulu's gaze lingered on Paine for a moment longer before her eyes flicked back forward. "I can understand your resentment towards him." Lulu paused. "He didn't want to leave you, Paine. He had to."

"He should have thought of that before getting some random chick pregnant, then." Paine returned angrily. "How the hell do you even know him? I don't even know him. Who are you anyway?" Her tone grew sharper with every word as her anger rose to fury. What right did Lulu have to tell her that she had known her father? Paine didn't want to know and didn't care.

Lulu remained quiet for a moment. Aware of Paine's sharp gaze on her. She sighed deeply and turned her head to the woman beside her, sorrow and regret in her crimson eyes. "Mother was far from just a random chick." Lulu paused for a minute and Paine reflected how oddly the statement was phrased. That confusion was cleared with Lulu's next words. "Paine…I'm your sister."

If Paine had been the type of girl that fainted, she would have been stone cold. As it was, she wasn't. All color drained from her already-pale face as shock and disbelief took her features. She tried to work her jaw, but words didn't come. It couldn't be. Lulu, her sister? It was insane, unreal. It couldn't be true. She didn't have siblings. She didn't have a family.

Lulu took her silence and bowed her head against it, returning her gaze to the wet sand ahead of her. "Half sister, really. I had a different father than you, but we share the same mother." She gave a half-hearted smile at the sand in memory. "She was a wonderful woman. Looked exactly like you." Lulu repeated, still reminiscing.

Paine was overwhelmed. Lulu, a complete stranger known only by one encounter, was informing her that she knew everything about Paine's parents and that she was her sibling? Her sister! It was too much to take in at one time. "You're lying." Paine spat out, desperately groping for any escape she could find.

"Your father made spheres." Lulu offered softly. "He gave them to me for safekeeping to give to you." One could hardly argue with that proof.

Paine's throat constricted uncomfortably. She hardly felt the sensation she was now, but she couldn't place it. A tight knot seemed to sharpen in her chest. "Why…did I never know?" Paine asked, desperate for answers, for any kind of explanation. Lulu said she'd known her father more than her and Lulu wasn't even his kid, whoever he was. Paine had long ago accepted that her father probably had been an uncaring bastard, especially if he simply dropped her off with the Ronsos with only two effects to her name, and she was comfortable in her way of thinking. But now that Lulu actually brought him up, actually knew the man…Paine found herself wanting answers.

"After your father died, I started to look for you. But you were quite evasive, I never found you until I asked Cid to keep watch out to see if he could locate you on his airship. As it turned out, you ran into him in Zanarkand before returning here, where I recognized you. It was not until just now that we actually have space to talk. I did not want to interfere with the Gullwings at the time."

Paine inhaled deeply. "Who was he?"

"I assume you would know him by his legend, if not by sight. His name is Sir Auron."

Paine didn't show any reaction, but Lulu assumed much was stirring in her mind. One didn't simply reveal that another's father was a legend and leave it at that. There was a short silence between them, broken by Paine's voice, softer toned than before. "You…you said I looked like her…did you also know my mother?"

"Our mother." Lulu corrected. "And yes, I did." Paine was silent, her gaze turned to the ground as if fascinated by the wet sands. Lulu took her silence in step and continued speaking in soft, low tone. "As I'm sure the Ronsos told you, she died with your birth. Sir Auron didn't know how to raise a small child on his own; he was devastated by mother's death and fell into depression. After searching Spira for a proper birth place, he concluded that the Ronso tribe would be the best place for you to grow up. After that…" Lulu hesitated slightly, "I followed him for a time, traveling alongside him until he met Lord Braska. The two both had much in common and became fast friends. Lord Braska had chosen an Al Bhed wife, against her father's wishes, and the two ran off together. She was later killed by Sin, which convinced Lord Braska that he should become a Summoner. Your father, Sir Auron, had left the Warrior Monks because they tried to push him into an arranged marriage. Both were rebels, they bonded instantly. It was then that Sir Auron decided to go with Lord Braska on his pilgrimage. I wasn't allowed to go. I stayed at Bevelle with Yuna."

Lulu glanced over at Paine again to study the other woman's reaction. Paine was fiddling with her blue firestone necklace, gazing forward emptily, her expression unreadable. "It was mother's." Lulu explained, staring at the firestone jewel. "She gave it to me, but I thought you should have it since you never got to know her." Lulu frowned slightly. "Sir Auron was…rather upset when he discovered you had it. He told me to take it back if I found you again."

_Some father. _If truth was told, Paine was just a little bit envious of Lulu. She'd had rather not learned this disturbing news of her father and her family, it only reinforced her view that Auron really hadn't cared for her. She'd accepted it all her life, but even the peek of hope managed to dwell deep down that maybe she was wrong, that there was an explanation behind it all. But there wasn't.

"Why are you telling me this now?" The edge had crept back into Paine's voice and she didn't bother to try to bite it back.

"Would you have rather not known?"

All her life, Paine had been searching for clues of her past. As a child, she wanted to know about her parents. As she matured, she joined the Crimson Squad and temporarily put her past aside from her, focusing on the present. After Nooj's betrayal…she had still wanted answers, more than ever, only about her friends that time. Her life had been a journey of mystery, trying to discover things she didn't know. Could she honestly say that she'd rather remained in the dark? The new revelations were disturbing, but at least she _knew_ something of her past, right?

Lulu seemed to understand her silence. "I'm sorry I couldn't find you before, but I thought you should at least know. You deserve that much." Paine kept her gaze down and pulled her hand away from her necklace. It was then that she noticed the mark again and was reminded of it. Paine frowned as she studied her palm. Did it seem…bigger? In the Thunder Plains she had hardly noticed it at all, now it took up the whole center of her palm. Maybe it had just been the rain and lightning that obscured her vision… "Would you like to see the spheres?" Lulu asked, watching Paine with a warm gaze.

"Not just yet." Paine dropped her hands to her side. "Lulu…" Paine trailed off.

"Yes?"

"Don't tell anyone about this…please." Paine sounded unsure of herself.

"Of course not," Lulu agreed, as if the thought hadn't even crossed her mind. "It's your place to speak, not mine. If you rather remain silent, that's your prerogative."

Paine stood and turned away from Lulu. "Thank you…for telling me." She left the mage staring after her as she made her way back to Besaid Village. Her stomach didn't hurt anymore as she moved. Yuna's cure was complete.

Paine thought about what she had discovered and frowned at the revelations. Her entire past had just been unraveled to her and now that it was out in the open, Paine wasn't quite sure what to do about her new discoveries. After a lifetime of searching, the answers were simply rolled out on a platter before her and now Paine didn't know what to make of them.

Lulu was her sister…that was the biggest shock of all. She had a sister? Well, half sister, but all the same. She had never known. She didn't quite know how to react to that.

And then, there was her mother. She'd always known her mother had been killed giving birth to her, which secretly made Paine feel guilty, being the cause of her mother's death. But Lulu had said 'we share the same mother'. What happened to Lulu's father? Or was…was Paine's mother a whore? Paine shivered at the thought. The made-up memory of her mother that Paine had for herself was of a good woman, a kind person. She'd hate to have that image shattered by reality; it was the only thing of her past childhood that brought her little comfort.

And now Auron. He sounded exactly like the man Paine made him out to be. _Couldn't care for a child, my ass._ _He dragged Lulu around, didn't he?_ Paine thought darkly. Though it might not be entirely fair to him, the revelations about Auron only strengthened Paine's conviction that her father must have been an uncaring bastard.

Paine reached Besaid Village without encountering any fiends and again marveled slightly at the lack of fiend activity. She began making her way to the temple before a squeal was heard behind her. She turned to see Rikku hop over, wearing a huge grin and nearly skipping. Upon reaching Paine, her smile broadened even more as her eyes fell upon Paine.

"So, Paine…" Just by the way she said it; Paine knew she wouldn't like what came out of Rikku's mouth. "I'm curious, what's it like to make out with three different guys within the same night?"

Paine flushed as her eyebrows crossed darkly. "I'm going to kill Gippal."

"So it _is _true!" Rikku exclaimed excitedly, bouncing up and down. "Holy shoopuff! Paine, this is groundbreaking stuff! You've kissed your entire squad! I've gotta tell Yunie!"

"Rikku!" Paine nearly growled.

Yuna's voice came from behind them, and Yuna soon too appeared from nowhere. "What's this I hear about Paine kissing her squad?"

"I was drunk!" Paine exclaimed loudly.

"Still!" Rikku squealed, "Painey, you've actually _kissed_ somebody! More than one somebody!"

Paine frowned. "What makes you think I've never kissed anybody before?"

Rikku glowed with excitement. "There were others before them too?! Oh, Yevon! Paine! I'm shocked!"

"This is certainly a discovery!" Yuna joined in.

"You should talk, Rikku!" Paine exclaimed, trying to divert the attention off herself.

"Hey!" Rikku almost whined. "I've never kissed anybody!" Paine was about to say something back when Rikku's comment hit her and she raised an eyebrow.

"Wow." She added, truly surprised. Yuna had gone quiet too, just looking at Rikku.

It was Rikku's turn to blush. "Wow? What's that supposed to mean?!"

Paine smiled lightly. "Nothing." Yuna remained silent.

"No, tell me! Why is that 'wow'?"

Paine's smile grew a little more. "Just…surprising."

"Surprising!" Rikku wore a desperate expression. "What's so surprising about it? Yuna, are you surprised too?"

"A little…" Yuna admitted softly, not wanting to hurt Rikku's feelings.

Rikku looked offended. "Hey! You just _assume _I've kissed somebody! What is this? This is biased!"

Paine chuckled, enjoying the fun she was having with Rikku. "We assumed more than that."

Rikku's light blush turned bright red. "What?!" Rikku turned to Yuna desperately for support. "Yunie…?" Yuna turned her gaze to the ground and bit her bottom lip. Rikku was appalled. "You-you guys! What would make you think that? Tell me!"

_Honestly, have you seen how she dresses?_ Paine gave another short smile at the thought before Gippal came up behind Rikku and slung an arm around her shoulders. "Don't worry, Princess. I'll fix this." Rikku turned to look at him exactly as Gippal bent his head over and captured her lips with his. Rikku's eyes grew wide at the sensual touch. A moment after, he pulled away, keeping his arm around her shoulders. Rikku's eyes seemed to glaze over momentarily before Gippal spoke again and broke the moment. "There you go, now you can live up to everyone's expectations." Rikku snapped back to reality and slugged him hard on the shoulder. Gippal laughed jubilantly and took off, Rikku chasing him and yelling obscenities for the whole village to hear.

Paine shook her head, the edges of her mouth still curved upwards. "I give them a week before they start dating, maybe less."

"They are nice together, aren't they?" Yuna agreed, returning Paine's slight smile with one of her own. "You were honestly surprised?"

"A bit, maybe, but not really. She's too…too Rikku." Paine gave a rare, full out smile. "Might as well make a big deal out of it, though."

"I figured as much." Yuna returned her gaze to Rikku, who was currently climbing a tree that Gippal was in. "_You,_ however, surprised me."

"Says the suddenly blitzball-obsessed girl?" Paine asked, and Yuna colored too. "I give it a month." She started to walk off.

Yuna called out from behind her. "A month? We're already dating!"

"I didn't mean dating." Paine added and Yuna went a deeper shade of red.

Paine made her way to the temple, nearly being crushed under Gippal as he fell out of the tree. She entered the vast, circular temple and glanced around. The temples hadn't changed at all, except for the fact that they drew fewer and fewer people these days. Striding past the two statues at the entrance, Paine proceeded into one of the back study rooms on either side of the entrance to the cloisters.

She was greeted by the sight of Baralia leaning over a long piece of parchment, etching in corrections and statements. "How'd I know I'd find you here?" Baralia's quill paused in midair and he looked up from the parchment at her. "Paine!" The quill dropped and he stood up to greet her. "How are you feeling? Are you all healed?"

"Yes, I'm fine." Paine replied. "What are you doing?"

Baralia glanced down at his papers as if noticing them for the first time. "I was writing orders back to Bevelle for a report back on the attack against you."

"You set out a search?" Paine asked, surprised.

"Of course." Baralia replied, as if it hadn't occurred to him not to. "It was a serious assault, you could have been hurt even worse if Lulu wasn't there to stop them. Do you have any idea what they were looking for, Paine?"

Paine frowned. "They mentioned my palm…"

Baralia looked intrigued. "Go on, tell me everything that happened. Anything would help at this point."

Paine sighed. "I was walking to the Travel Agency in the Thunder Plains when someone, a Guado, judging by their fingers, threw a flashbomb. From there, I was blinded and they attacked me. One called to another and said 'check her palm' and the other one did and they said something else like 'it's her' or something. I don't know, I can't clearly remember it all. They just pinned me down and I fell unconscious after one of them struck me."

Baralia nodded accordingly and glanced down at his papers. "Lulu confirmed that they were Guado. But she didn't get a real close look at them, after she shocked the first one, the others ran."

"How many were there?"

Baralia shook his head. "There were at least three." Something occurred to Baralia. "Paine, let me see your palm."

Paine frowned, but held out her hand anyway. Baralia took her hand in his and held hers face up. The dark black mark that was in the shape of a sword glared up against her pale palm, almost seeming like a big bruise. Baralia frowned too. "When did you first notice this?"

"In the Thunder Plains." Paine replied unsurely. "It might have been there longer, I don't know."

"I swear, I've seen this before somewhere…" Baralia mused, still studying her hand.

Paine's frown deepened. "Well, duh, it's a sword."

"It's a symbol." A deeper voice responded. Paine pulled her hand away as Nooj entered the tent carrying a thick text.

"A symbol?" She questioned.

"Hey! That's New Yevon's!" Baralia exclaimed upon seeing the book.

The edges of Nooj's mouth quirked at Baralia's comment, but he didn't say anything to him. "Yes, a symbol for the Farplane."

Paine quirked an eyebrow at him. "And that means?"

"I have no idea." Nooj confessed, placing the book down atop Baralia's papers on his desk. "But they look exactly alike, see?" He pointed to the book's picture and lightly took Paine's hand face up with his whole hand. The pictures did match, from what Paine could see; there wasn't even a slight difference between the two. Paine drew her hand back.

Baralia seemed intrigued. "I think I'll take this book back to New Yevon and have some of our studious monks research this." He stated importantly, gathering the book in his lap. "I'll tell you when I hear something Paine, about the attack or your…err, mark."

Paine nodded and left. Nooj gave Baralia a short smile before following Paine out himself. Baralia breathed in deeply and shook his head, returning to his papers he resumed his work. All was peaceful…for now.


	3. Practice

_**A/N: It's short, yes, but just an idication that I'm coming back and returning to this fic. I'm sorry for leaving you all to wait, those who read this story, my interest just dropped off...but it's back now and you should be seeing another update real quick, so don't worry. Again, sorry for such a long delay and I hope you enjoy the story. Leave me a few words if you want too, I'll get back to your comments/or/questions =)**_

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**Paine found herself returning to the beach. **Before she could stop and reassess the decision, she had already reached the sandy support that made up Besaid beach. She was both anxious and a bit excited when she saw the back of Lulu's head in the same place Paine had left her. Paine swallowed her emotions and went to sit beside the black mage.

"Hello Paine." Lulu greeted without turning her gaze away from the tides.

"Lu." Paine simply replied.

"You have questions? I'm sure you do. You don't need to hold back your emotions with me about this." Lulu gave a small, wry smile at Paine's narrowed eyes. "We are of the same blood Paine; I can see you've built up a hard exterior. I did the same thing myself when he left me."

"I don't want to talk about…him." Paine snapped harshly. That was not the reason she came to talk to Lulu. Come to think of it, she didn't really know why she came to talk to Lulu. She'd much rather just be dealing with it alone. She had been right; ignorance was better than knowing. That annoyingly old saying 'ignorance is bliss' was actually pretty accurate.

"I fear I have left you with the wrong impression of your father. He loved you very much, Paine. Leaving you was his hardest decision-"

"Then why'd he do it?" Paine bit off angrily, momentarily letting go of her anger. "He took you around, didn't he? You're not that much older than me, Lulu! If he could take you around and care for you, he could have cared for me just as well! You're not even his daughter!"

Lulu remained silent for an instant, assuring herself that Paine was done with her rant before opening her mouth to speak. "You are jealous of me." It wasn't a question. They both knew it was true. Paine breathed in bitterly and turned away from Lulu, unable to keep her eyes on the woman. It wasn't Lulu's fault that Auron had left Paine and taken her, but at the moment Paine wanted someone to blame. And it didn't make sense that Auron would leave her and not Lulu…unless he was ashamed of her. And Paine could only think of one reason why he'd be ashamed of her at so young. It must have been…her mother. Paine's saintly view of her mother that she had cherished in all the times she felt alone was slowly crumbling before her. "I do not blame you for it, but you should know that I did not have much longer with your father than you yourself did, Paine. He left with Lord Braska only months after he left you. Truth be told, I do not know why he left you."

"Then why give me some bullshit reason that he could not care for me?" Paine knew she was being harsh, but it was Lulu who had spoken the words.

"Because that's the reason he gave me." Lulu replied simply.

"What an asshole." Paine muttered darkly.

Lulu glanced over at her. Paine couldn't hide all the anger in her features, but she could hide the hurt, which she did. She didn't want pity from Lulu. She didn't want pity from anybody. "You should watch the spheres he made for you…they may answer some questions. I am failing horribly at telling his side of the story."

"You're only re-affirming my previous views of him." Paine was silent for a minute. She wanted to ask Lulu about their mother, but then again, did she really want to know? Ignorance was bliss, but now that Lulu had brought up doubts about her as well… No matter how blissful it might be, Paine lived in a world of reality. It was harsh and unstable, and it hurt like hell, but it was better than living in a world of fantasy. Lulu waited patiently for Paine to regroup herself, saying nothing in between. Paine swallowed thickly. "What of…our mother?"

Lulu let herself smile, just a tiny bit. "She was a wonderful woman. You would have loved her. I was only eight when she died, but I remember her well. Mother was always so generous and kind. She radiated a sort of good-nature. She was always helping people, doing everything she could for everyone else…" Lulu's eyes fell upon Paine again. "She looked just like you." She repeated.

Paine shifted her position and her eyes fell on Lulu's. There was something in Lulu's eyes that Paine couldn't place. She had never seen the woman show this much emotion before. Her eyes held a sort of…wistfulness? Concern? Paine didn't know. Lulu seemed to read Paine's very thoughts and a second later, the emotion was gone, hidden once again. Lulu herself seemed to stiffen and she turned away from Paine.

Lulu began getting to her feet. "Watch the spheres." It wasn't a question, but it wasn't a demand either. With that, Lulu turned and left, leaving a confused Paine in her wake.

Paine had about twenty seconds to herself to dwell on what she had learned and what just happened before a familiar form dropped down beside her. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." Paine sighed, turning her gaze away from the sky to study the newcomer. It was Nooj who sat beside her, watching her with soft, comforting eyes.

Nooj gave a sad smile. "You never used to be distant with us. That was my job."

Paine could detect the notion of the joke, but it made her sad to hear the words. She had become distant with the gang. Ever since that day when Nooj—no, not Nooj, when Shuyin had shot them, they had formed a wall between each other. Paine had grown guarded over the course of events and had yet to take her shields down. It was hard, considering how she'd been hurt. She'd been alone for so many years, when she had met the guys she was reluctant at first, but after they had become friends, it had been so hard to let them go. Having them back again was wonderful, but Paine's heart had taken a beating in the process and retreated inward. It was going to take awhile of convincing and coaxing to let it back out again. From her reaction, Nooj seemed to understand what she was thinking about. "Whatever it is, Paine, its okay if you do not wish to tell me. I know it will take some time to rebuild the trust."

"It's not that—" Paine objected. "I trust you." Nooj gazed at her with those sad eyes, smiling lightly at her words, but the smile did not reach his eyes. It was as if he was thanking her for being kind enough to lie about it. "I'm not lying, Nooj. I do trust you. It's just…" Paine didn't know how to finish her sentence.

"I understand." Nooj helped her. He didn't need to make her suffer by saying the words. "We'll wait for you, Paine. I won't let anything separate our gang again, I promise." Even though the words could be broken, Paine appreciated Nooj saying them. It was a start, however flimsy or weak.

"PAINEEE-Y!"

Paine shook her head slightly. "Oh Yevon. Rikku, what is so important that you must scare half the beach of beach to tell me?"

Rikku's eyes fell on Paine as she heard her voice and she dashed over as fast as she could run. Instead of stopping in front of Paine, Rikku lunged at her and tackled her further away from Nooj. She had little beads of sweat on her forehead and was breathing hard, suggesting that she'd been looking for Paine for quite some time. "Paine, tell me it isn't true?!"

A grip of fear clasped around Paine's chest. Did Rikku know about…Paine had asked Lulu not to tell anyone. Why would she? Before Paine could dwell too long on these fears, Rikku blurted. "The whole gang has seen you naked, Paine?! Tell me it isn't so!"

"Would you mind getting off me, Rikku?" Without waiting for an answer, Paine pushed Rikku off to the side. Rikku tumbled sideways, but then quickly got up again and clung to Paine's arm.

"Is it true?!" She asked again.

"Gippal has a way of twisting the truth."

Rikku breathed a sigh of relief. "So it's not true then?"

Paine frowned at her. "Of course it's true. We lived together for a long time, so yeah; sometimes we walked in on each other."

Rikku's eyes bulged. "What?! How are you so casual about this, Paine? This is even more revealing than your kissing history!"

"It wasn't a big deal, Rikku. Accidents happen. It's not like I let the guys just stare at me when it did. You need to settle down." Paine pushed Rikku off her shoulder and the girl plopped down in the sand on her butt.

Rikku paused for half a second to take a breath. "Wait…you said 'walked in on each other. You've seen them naked too?!"

"Rikku, you're really getting too excited about this."

"Paine, this is important!" Rikku seemed to notice, for the first time, that they were not alone. Her eyes lit up upon sight of Nooj, who, to Paine's dismay, was slightly colored. "Nooj! Look, Paine; Nooj is blushing! It was a big deal! I've never seen Nooj blush before! Not even from LeBlanc!"

Paine sighed and dropped her head into her hands. Another familiar voice floated over Paine's head. "Rikku, there you are!" Gippal showed up on the scene. Paine gave him a withering glare.

"Did you have to tell Rikku everything?"

Gippal gave his customary smile. "Who said I told her everything?"

Rikku's eyes alighted. "There's more?!"

"Much."

Rikku fixed her gaze on Paine. "Why haven't you ever told me any of this?"

Paine raised an eyebrow. "Because I knew you'd act like this about it."

"It doesn't matter how I'd act about it! We're your friends; you're supposed to tell us stuff like this!" Paine winced. Rikku's comments hit a little too close to home. Rikku appeared not to notice. "We're going to have a loooong talk, Painey. You're going to tell me and Yuna everything!"

"What happened to care-taker Rikku? I think I liked her better."

"You're not injured anymore." Rikku replied simply. She turned to Gippal. "Once Paine tells us everything, you're to verify. Okay?"

"Sure." Gippal smiled easily. Paine narrowed her eyes at him. "In any case," Gippal continued, changing the subject. "We have a mission to do."

"A stress signal from the Celsius?" Paine asked, eyes still narrowed.

"Yeah, it's coming from that cave at the bottom of the gorge in the Calm Lands."

"The Cave of the Fayth?" Paine asked suspiciously.

"That mighta been it." Gippal shrugged. "I don't know the name of it."

Paine pondered this for a minute. "That cave is near the Ronsos…" She said quietly.

Rikku significantly brightened. "We can go visit if you want!" She glowed, anxious. "And you can tell us things on the way! Maybe we'll even learn something about you growing up with the Ronsos!"

Paine shook her head, exasperated. "You are much too anxious about this."

"You would be too, in my position!" Rikku claimed, bouncing excitedly. "Well---Gullwings…" she glanced over at Gippal. "And Squad. Let's go!"

-----

"**Have you ever…you know?"** Rikku chuckled childishly, awaiting the answer with a hyper glow in her blue eyes.

Paine frowned and lifted an eyebrow at her. "Have I ever?"

Yuna shifted nervously on the bed and caused a ripple to bounce the other two girls on the water-filled mattress. Rikku chuckled again and gave Paine an innocent smile. "You know…" She urged Paine with her hands, as if the answer should have been obvious. Paine continued to stare at her in an oblivious manner and Rikku broke out into another fit of giggles.

"I'm going upstairs." Paine announced, standing. Rikku was acting weird, which wasn't unusual, but the hyper girl was being especially strange today. Ever since the discovery of Paine's less-than-perfect moments with the Crimson Squad, she'd been acting all fidgeting and giggling in that high pitch, hyena-like manner.

"No you don't!" Rikku squeaked, grabbing Paine's arm and pulling her back onto the bed.

Paine slapped her hand away. "What is up with you?"

Rikku giggled again and Paine gave her a belittling glare. Through her laughter, Yuna spoke, as Rikku was unable to do so. "She wants to ask you more about the Crimson Squad." Yuna answered her with a sigh. "She's been this way since Gippal told her about you walking in on—"

Paine rolled her eyes. "Oh, Yevon. Rikku, you're so childish."

"It's a big deal!" Rikku attempted to calm herself down enough to speak. Once she had done so, she looked up to Paine to say something…and broke out into another fit of laughter.

Paine shook her head. "My respect for you is draining by the second."

Rikku straightened suddenly, looking alarmed. "How many points do I have left?" She asked anxiously.

"Two." Paine stood up to leave again, but Rikku pulled her down once more.

"No! No! I'll be serious this time, I promise!" Rikku tugged on her arm, whining. "Come on Painnney, I didn't mean it!"

"Call me that again and you'll lose those fingers." Rikku released Paine's arm and settled back down onto the bed. Paine eyed her wryly. Rikku scrutinized her, squinting. Paine shifted.

"What?"

"Nothing." Rikku answered evasively, biting down on her bottom lip coyly.

Paine sighed deeply. "Rikku, what is this about?"

Rikku sucked in a breath and hesitantly started. "Well…you know the other day when you said you'd kissed your whole squad and others…" Paine kept her expression emotionless. "…and I said I never…did."

"Yeah?" Paine asked skeptically, raising an eyebrow. "What of it?"

"Well…" Rikku rushed on, suddenly in a hurry to get it out. "I think Gippal's gunna kiss me sometime because he was hinting at it when I was chasing him and I want my first to be special and perfect, you know? So I wanted…"

"Gippal already kissed you, remember?" Paine pointed out.

"Yeah, but that one didn't count because…well, I didn't know what he was doing. So it didn't count. But anyway, I wanted to know…"

"Just spit it out Rikku!" Paine growled.

Rikku fidgeted, obviously uncomfortable. "I know! I know! Just wait…I'm trying to think how to say it."

Yuna nodded patiently. "It's okay Rikku…go on."

Rikku breathed in again. "Well…you've kissed Tidus, right? And Paine's kissed a lot of people…"

Paine scoffed. "Just because I've kissed _someone _doesn't mean I've kissed _everybody_. You're making me sound like a whore."

Rikku flinched. "Sorry, I didn't mean—"

Paine waved her off. "Now—you were saying?"

"Well…you guys have experience and I was thinking…maybe…" Paine didn't like the sound of where that was heading.

Yuna bowed her head lightly. "Maybe…"

Rikku bit her bottom lip. "Maybe Paine could practice with me—"

Paine's eyes widened and she moved back on the bed, away from Rikku, giving her a mortified stare. "What—"

"Please Paine, please?! It needs to be perfect and I'll probably suck at it and I can't let my first kiss suck because it'll ruin everything and Gippal won't like me anymore and he'll know how inexperienced I am and he'll—"

"Rikku." Yuna interrupted gently. "Gippal wouldn't respond like that."

"No, it has to be perfect Yuna, you don't understand! I mean, you and Tidus had that great thing in Macalania woods while in the water and he kissed you and it was perfect and I'm sure Paine's was awesome too and I won't compare and I—"

"I am not kissing you." Paine stood abruptly and tried to get around the thief, but Rikku blocked her way and grabbed her arm desperately.

"Paine, please! It'll kill me if I can't—"

Paine yanked her arm away and pushed Rikku back onto the bed, stepping away. "No, Rikku! That's—I don't kiss other girls—and you don't either."

Rikku went to jump up again, but Yuna gently laid a hand on her shoulder, stopping her. "Rikku, you shouldn't be so scared about it. You'll do fine."

Rikku's sighed deeply. "I just want it to be special."

Paine shook her head. "You'll be fine. Nobody 'practices' this stuff, it just comes to them when they start. You'll see."

Rikku looked defeated. "Well…could you at least _tell_ me about how your first kisses were?"

Paine looked distinctively uncomfortable. "What's to tell?"

"Where was it? Who with? How did it go? What happened after? How did you kiss them—everything! I _need_ pointers, guys!" Rikku turned to Paine again. "I totally was watching Yunie's first kiss—"

"What?!" Yuna chirped, alarmed.

"But what about you?" Rikku continued obliviously. "Tell me how yours happened."

Paine looked decidedly frustrated and…a little nervous? Yuna squinted at the strange expression on Paine's face. "Paine?" She probed, curious now where she wasn't before. Paine was fearless, the strength of the Gullwings; Yuna had never seen her look so unsettled before.

"I…I can't remember my first." Paine lied. Yuna read through it, but Rikku was oblivious. Her eyebrows raised in surprise and she gave Paine a shocked look.

"Can't remember?! Yevon, Paine! How many people have you kissed?!" The desperation crept back into Rikku's voice as she turned to both of them. "See, Paine forgot hers! That means it wasn't special enough! Gippal's totally gunna forget kissing me too! You guys have to help me!"

Paine gave Rikku an irritated, sarcastic look that seemed more natural to her person and stood up. "We're gunna hit the caves soon. I'm going to the cabin."

"But—wait, hey!" Rikku watched Paine hop down from the ledge with growing despair. "I'll give you a thousand gil if you help me!" There was no answer except the _swish_ of the elevator doors closing behind her. Rikku turned to Yuna helplessly. "Yuna? How about it? A thousand gil?"

Yuna rolled her eyes. "You already owe me a thousand gil, Rikku. I told you Paine wasn't Ronso." Rikku sighed miserably as Yuna, too, stood up and dropped off the ledge.

She slumped on the bed. "Won't anyone help me?" _This is kinda sad. Aren't friends supposed to help you with this kinda thing? Is there nobody willing to kiss me—not even for gil?_ _Let's see…_a thought suddenly struck Rikku. _Oh! But could I…_Rikku jumped up from the bed, her determination renewed as she scrambled down the steps. "Hey Barkeep! I've got a proposition for you…"


End file.
